Future open Presidential elections will be opposite of 2008: Democrats will be more fragmented than Republicans 1/21/08

One of the most striking features of this election is how ideologically different the Republican candidates are from each other vs. the relative similarity of the Democratic candidates. In fact, the Democrats are so similar that the contest has focused almost exclusively on secondary issues like style, experience, gender, and race. This is not the natural order of things. There is a clearly defined standard against which conservatives measure their candidates — a strict reading of the Constitution — that limits Republicans’ ideological range. But, liberals feel less bound to these principles, with many believing we have a “living Constitution” that ought to change with the times. This allows for a multitude of Democratic candidates offering a number of diverse ideologies.

A new Pew study sheds light on why the Democratic candidates are so similar. Despite the fact that most Americans believe that the mainstream media are liberal, the media continue to insist they are simply presenting us with the truth (“the correct way to look at things,” according to Bernard Goldberg). Apparently, Democratic voters still believe them and share their ideological blindness. The graph below shows that Democratic voters place themselves about right smack in the middle of the ideological spectrum along with Clinton and Obama — candidates who hold the monolithic, media-supported liberal positions on issues such as abortion, death penalty, drilling in ANWR, guns, health care, immigration, school vouchers, and Social Security. With the collapse of Old Media, Democrats will receive less affirmation that these center-left-establishment positions are “right,” as in “correct.” And with the growth of New Media, they will be exposed to news sites that fit their personal views even better. And when that happens, “Democrat unity” will become an oxymoron, as well as an impossible goal for the Party’s leadership. (H/T: Christopher Cook)